Minding My Peas

Pursuing Mindfulness in Motherhood and Life

BOOK REVIEW: The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

September 4, 2015 Reading Life 2 Comments

storied_life_of_fikryReview of: The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Genre: Literary Fiction

A. J. Fikry is the passionate, generally irritable owner of the only book store on Alice Island. He has good reason to be irritable. His wife has died, the bookstore is barely making enough money to survive on, and his most valuable possession–a book he intended to sell and pay for retirement with–has been stolen.  When a surprise package lands on A. J.’s doorstep, the choices that follow send him and the Alice Island Bookstore on an irreversible trail to new life.  Against all odds, he finds himself flourishing, and with an opportunity for happiness he never expected to experience again.

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry is a delightful, tender story of change and new hope.  Fellow book lovers, find this one and take it home! Literary fiction has such a different feel to it than most other genres.  I generally expect to be sucked into a story, and am peeved by the end if that hasn’t actually happened.  Literary fiction–good literary fiction, at any rate–has such a gentle magnetism to it that you don’t even realize you’re hooked until it’s midnight and you keep telling yourself “just one more chapter”.  Once I settled into the story, it felt like part of me.  Maybe I’m over-identifying with A. J. because I think it would be tremendous fun to run a bookstore.  That is a distinct possiblity.

‘ The Storied Life’ was just so perfectly bittersweet.  I think that is what surprised me most about liking it.  Y’all, I am all about my happy endings.  Not to give too much away, but The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry did not have what I would consider a happy ending.  It was a satisfying ending.  It was a complete ending.  The book made sense and was very poetic in the ending.  But it was not a happy-go-lucky kind of end.  It just wasn’t.

I’ve seen ‘The Storied Life’ compared to ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’, and I think that is a reasonable comparison, as long as you don’t go making assumptions about the plot.  It’s similar in tone, and I think if you like one you’ll probably like the other, but that’s really as far as the comparison goes.  If you like literary fiction at all though, you should definitely pick up this book.  It’s very easy to get through, and not nearly as long as some other literary fiction works, but it’s well worth it.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)

Related

book reviewsbook reviews by we peas readliterary fictionreviewing literary fictionwe peas read

Moving

BOOK REVIEW: Mexican Mutts and Tequila Pups by David Gordon Burke

2 thoughts on “BOOK REVIEW: The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin”

  1. Karen Chalmers
    September 4, 2015 at 11:06 am

    I agree with your review 100%. I suggest adding “84 Charing Cross Road” by Helene Hanff to the list of literary fiction books worth reading.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth
      September 7, 2015 at 2:53 pm

      I’ll have to look that one up, Karen! I don’t think I’ve actually read it yet!

      Reply
Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Welcome to Minding My Peas

I’m Elizabeth, wife of superman and mother to my four little peas. We’re on a quest to pay off our second house, travel as a family, and spread the feast of a living education for our children.  I’m obsessed with books, budgets, chocolate, and learning new things.  Right here is where I’m trying to record the story of this life. Welcome!

Goodreads

Recent Posts

  • The Glass Castle
  • Homeschool Beginnings
  • When the foundations shift
  • When goodness abounds…
  • Reading Challenge Update: February 2022

Archives

Proudly powered by WordPress | Theme: Doo by ThemeVS.
 

Loading Comments...